Have You Seen This?—Cool Features on the Family Tree App

Have you tried using the Family Tree app to learn about your family? The mobile app has some features you may not have seen yet—and they give you a powerful way to connect with your family.

With the Family Tree app, you can search for ancestors and learn about their life experiences wherever you happen to be—at home or on the go. You can find out if you’re related to your friends, co-workers, neighbors, and anyone with a FamilySearch tree!

Discover How You Are Related to Someone Nearby

Have you ever wondered how you are related to someone you’ve met? The Relatives around Me feature in the Family Tree app is a great get-to-know-you tool, as Eric Nielson recently discovered. He and a group of friends signed in to the Family Tree app, and three of them discovered they were distant cousins. About using this feature, Eric said, “I feel it brings that ‘small world’ feeling. It provides a nice bonding experience.” Learn more…

Quickly Look at Record Hints

FamilySearch record hints can help you find out more about your family, verify important information, and discover sources that may expand your family tree. With the Family Tree app, you can look at record hints wherever you happen to be, quickly compare records with an ancestor’s profile, and attach the records as a source—all in a matter of minutes! Learn more…

See What the Family Tree Knows about an Ancestor

Did you know you can simply open the Family Tree app and search for an ancestor without ever signing in? Find a relative, learn about your family name, and see what else the FamilySearch Family Tree can tell you with the updated search tool on the Family Tree app. Learn more…

See Your Ancestors on a World Map

Track your ancestors around the globe to see where they were born, where they lived, and even where they were buried. With the Family Tree app, you can follow your ancestors’ life events using this interactive map. The Map My Ancestor tool is powerful enough to show you specific regions and cities where your ancestor visited, as long as that information is added to the FamilySearch tree. Learn more…

With so many features available to people using the FamilySearch Family Tree app, there is sure to be something that will interest people of all ages. Download the app and give it a try! You can find it in the Apple App Store or on Google Play.

Need Help Navigating the Family Tree App?

If you’re having trouble finding features on the mobile app, don’t fret! Here are some quick directions for how to use each of the features mentioned above.

How to See If You Are Related to Someone Nearby

To use the Relatives around Me feature, everyone participating must sign in to the app and be within approximately 100 feet of each other. Those with an iOS device can tap on the word More at the bottom of their screen and then choose the option Relatives around Me. On an Android device, you can find the Relatives around Me tool under the 3-bar options button.

Relatives Around Me on iOS.

Relatives Around Me on Android.

Be sure that everyone participating taps the green button to start scanning and has location services turned on for their device so the app knows you are close in proximity.

Anyone using the tool within range will show up in a list on your mobile device. Selecting a person’s name will bring up a pedigree chart showing how you are related. You can use this tool with any number of people, whether you are with a friend, at work, or even just meeting someone for the first time.

How to Look at Record Hints

FamilySearch regularly compares your ancestors’ profile information with old and new records to see if there are any possible matches. These possible matches show up as record hints that can help you find records without filling out search forms or looking through record collections.

To see these hints on an iOS device, tap Tasks at the bottom of your screen. For Android, tap the 3-bar menu, and then tap Ancestors with Tasks. This feature will show you a list of relatives. To see a possible record match, tap on any relative who has a blue record icon.

The record matches might help you discover something new about your family or confirm information already in your tree. To find out, pick a record to explore, and tap the down arrow. You can read the record’s basic information there, or scroll down and tap the green button to compare the record to your ancestor’s profile.

As you compare information, notice the clickable icons and links. These icons and links help you see more information, attach the record to someone in your tree, and quickly add information to the family tree. (Click here to learn more about attaching and reviewing records.)

Record Hints on iOS.

Record Hints on Android.

Quick tip: Have you ever wanted to use multiple screens in the Family Tree app? Now you can! Read more here.

As more and more records are made available online, record hints can help you find newly added records without the hassle of repeated searching. The mobile app can help you make discoveries whenever you decide to pull out your device and take a look.

See What the Family Tree Knows about an Ancestor—without Signing In

Open the Family Tree app to the signed-out screen, and tap the green button that says Search for an Ancestor. Enter information about one of your relatives, and then tap Search.

Logged out iOS Homescreen.

Logged out Android Homescreen.

FamilySearch will find records, photos, and more that might match your ancestor. Even if you don’t know specific details about a relative, try putting a last name into this simple search, and see what happens! Watch your friends’ faces light up when they find more information about their family.

How to Find a Relative While Signed In

Open the Family Tree app, sign in, and tap the search icon in the top right area of your screen. Enter at least your ancestor’s last name—the more details you add, the better! Then tap Find. This search is an easy way to learn about your family’s last name, quickly update a relative’s information, or find a relative and learn more about the family.

Using this feature on the FamilySearch Family Tree app can help you have a deeper connection to family, anywhere and anytime.

How to See Your Ancestors on a World Map

To see your ancestors’ life events on a world map, open the Family Tree app, and tap More on an iOS device or the 3-bar menu on an Android device. Then tap Map My Ancestors. A world map will appear with blue bubbles showing numbers of events that happened in a particular location or profile images of your ancestors. Tap any of the bubbles, or use two fingers to zoom in and out, and let the fun begin!

Amie Bowser Tennant is a genealogy researcher, writer and presenter.She writes blog articles and other content for many top companies and societies in the genealogy field. Her most treasured experience is working as a consultant for family history. Amie lives with her husband and three children in Ohio, surrounded by many of her extended family.

Instead of concentrating efforts on privately constructing their own individual trees, FamilySearch tree builders cooperate to build a single, shared tree that helps you and others discover more about ancestors and other family members. To read more about how the family tree works on FamilySearch, click here.